RiverPro Problems?

[pureinsanity]

What Gordie is saying is that these jets suck in water and push it out as a means of propelling. So if you are hitting big waves and your jet is coming out of the water, you're sucking in air instead of water so you are going no where. When the boat does get back into the water that air is still in the system and the boat has to catch up. Thus you slow down.

Also, if debris gets in the jet such as leaves, It will clog it up and reduce power because water cannot get through as fast. Thus slowing you down as well.

I was in a RP where the leaves clogged up the jet intake and didn't even notice. Definitely knew the second time after it was explained to me what happens.

[Gordie]

yea thats what I said

not only leaves but the weeds as well

[pureinsanity]

were you on the river today? Saw a boat that looked like yours

[Wiskers]

What I was getting at is most jets are a flat bottom and a limited v front causing hard ride on big waves a high speeds.. by plowing your boat and keeping the front up will allow it to ride smoother in the bigger waves.. As for porpoising or cavitating, I have not had a big issue with that.. smaller white caps will do it a little but it never caused me any troubles, it just sounds like a wetbike racing across the lake.. they do it all the time.

[Gordie]

were you on the river today? Saw a boat that looked like yours

nope had to run a paintbrush all day yesturday I wont fish out of the flatbottom cause its all set up for hunting now but I do have a 16ft boat that I would use. would of loved to be out it was beautiful out

[wastewaterguru]

Like Rusty said, you are more likely to have sore kidneys when in a RiverPro on big water. You want to have all your gear stored well and loose items secured. The flat bottom will tend to smack the waves rather than cut through like a v-hull. I have had excellent results just feathering the throttle and finding a position that keeps the back of the boat down.

If you are buying a boat to fish big water often.....then a RiverPro is not the right animal. However, they will get you from A to B in 3 foot chop if necessary even at full throttle if you have the stomach for it. Keep in mind you stand to drive so make sure not to lock your knees and keep a wide stance. I have been in some medium waves in mine with no problems with cavitation. The sportjets all have rev limiters to keep from causing engine damage when air goes through the impeller.

An aftermarket trim system would help immensely with waves but they are a little spendy. A simple set of hydraulic trim tabs can be added.....or they make a aftermarket steering nozzle that goes up and down in addition to left and right.

[river rat316]

Kevin stands behind his product better than any company I have ever seen, I have owned a OB jet and they are way down on the totem pole as far as jets go. RiverPro's are faster, more manueverable, get better fuel mileage, stay on plane at slower speeds, the hull is tough as nails (hardbottom option). Plus they hold there resale value forever, just ask someone like me who has been looking for a lo-pro for over a year!

While the 175 does have some minor issues, is just the 2.5 liter v6 that Merc has used in everything from the 150-225 outboards to the sport jets so powerheads are readily available. As far as the over heating thing no jet was made to suck sand, in my outboard it would have caused a power head failure due to blockage. The new RP's are optimax engines, get unbelievable fuel mileage, are quieter and more powerfull.

RiverPros also don't clog near as easy as a OB one leave would cause my OB to not get on plane, and if it is a major problem put the stock weedgrate on Kevin gives out with every boat and the impeller will make salad out of those leaves or weeds (just don't take a direct hit to the intake)

And if you want to run lakes with your boat ask KT about the 12 degree bottom option he has, I don't know what models are availble with it but KT borrowed me one for a weekend last year and it was an unbelievable little boat handled chop excellent with no cavitation, didn't beat you up to bad and still ran shallower than any boat should go!

[Big Dave2]

if its anything like my old ob jet when you hit waves and the boat goes thru them like reg boats you will suc air and in turn lose power cause your out of water in the jet drive part. hope you can under stand what I'm tring to say bigdave

Elwood, I have been reading your posts for a long time. Believe me, I understand every word!

[Gordie]

Thanks BIGDAVE

[DTro]

We got John's RP pretty clogged tonight. The simple "shut er down" trick didn't work, we had to find a log to coast over and scrape it off.

[Gordie]

sweet

[Carp-fisher]

We got John's RP pretty clogged tonight. The simple "shut er down" trick didn't work, we had to find a log to coast over and scrape it off.

What were you guys blazing through a creek? I came across that video on YouTube. Holy cow!

[DTro]

Originally Posted By: dtro

We got John's RP pretty clogged tonight. The simple "shut er down" trick didn't work, we had to find a log to coast over and scrape it off.

What were you guys blazing through a creek? I came across that video on YouTube. Holy cow!

I plead the 5th

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Better delete all those threads and videos when you sell that thing WWG lol

[river rat316]

There is one undeniable advantage to a OB though

This is my old boat

[pureinsanity]

Better delete all those threads and videos when you sell that thing WWG lol

I think john will be hanging onto that boat for a while yet

[Gordie]

I know theres only one problem with a riverpro I dont have one

[DTro]

yep, me too.

John never has to worry about selling because he knows he has a buyer lined up already.

[pureinsanity]

yep, me too.

John never has to worry about selling because he knows he has a buyer lined up already.

I think he would have lots of buyers readily available... In fact he would have the best luck auctioning it off to the highest bidder.

[harvey lee]

Heck just call River Pro, they more than likely have a few sitting around or call Beavertail with Otter Outdoors.

Plenty of jet boats for all.

[ec30_06]

I love trimming up my ob jet and spraying people when they get too mouthy

[harvey lee]

Thats if you could catch me on the river Ed.

[William T. Brask]

I’m sure John will chime in sooner or later, but the simple fact is that there is no perfect boat. When It comes to jet engines, you will have issues with both outboards and inboards. If you check out the River-Pro HSOforum, Kevin explains pretty well, the advantages of having an inboard jet.

The biggest issue I’ve seen with the RiverPros is that the 175 SportJet (pre 2002)have a poorly designed exhaust cooling system that if not constantly maintained will gobble up steering cables.

The advantages over a prop engine however in these low water conditions, far FAR outweigh the issues.

Also remember, they are not called LakePro’s for a reason

WWG,

Like you I love my RP and have the exact same issue as you. Inevitably it was my own doing for being a smidge crazy and not taking the proper maintenance steps. By chance where did you get your parts as mine is laid up until I replace the cables. Then my big oaf self needs to figure out how to do so.

[Dennis Steele]

I ran RP's over a few years. I was loaned a LowPro to begin with and then had two HiPro's.

The only major problem I had with any of them was keeping them between the shorelines.

This most likely had only to do with my ability to control their power.

Some of the real problems I had were, like WWG was the steering cable.

My problem was not due to the exhaust melting the cable, but not having the patience to let the exhuast warm the cable in freezing temperatures. I tried to force the cable when it was stuck on a day when the air temp was nearing the 0 mark. After replacing the cable, I never had a problem again if I let it warm for a few minutes when temps were below freezing.

One of the advantages of a RP is that you can run them in freezing temps. The exhaust warms the steering cable and keeps it from freezing up. I think in WWG's RP there may be another culprit that causes it to over heat and thus melt the steering cable.

WWG's RP is an older boat and was one of the very first RP's manufactured. I also know this boats previous owner and he had a wiring issue that caused some heat damage before WWG had bought it. Maybee this is some residual issue not corrected when the wiring melted?

Unlike WWg's boat all the boats I had ran great in colder weather. I did have a little trouble getting them started in hot weather, much like other 2cycl Mercs I have run.

Like others have said they are not primarily a "big water" boat, and if you considering buying one to run on Mille Lacs, Leech, Winnie, Rainy or LTW, you might think about getting something else.

The biggest problem is cavitation when on plane in choppy water. You just can't put the boat on plane when you get waves larger than a foot to a foot and a half. If you don't mind going slow then no problem. The HiPro's are very safe in big waves.

Like others have said, if you have questions or are interested in RP, give Kevin Turner at River Pro a call. He will not let you buy one of his boats unless you completley understand what you are buying. When I bought my first boat, he was so thourough at explaining the advantages and disadvantages of the boat I almost thought he was trying to talk me out of it!

If it weren't for the poor economy and having to sell mine, I'd still be in one.

[wastewaterguru]

I got my steering cable issue solved with a few aftermarket hardware store parts that totalled about $20.

I still have a melted cable in the boat now and the steering is a little stiff because of it....but I am not tearing into it until I am done fishing for the fall.

I also would like to mention that the sportjets are a bit more maintenance than a standard outboard in that there are two gear cases that need the lube changed annually and I would recommend checking the level in them more often than that.

Like Dennis said, the boat runs very well in cold temps and to warm mine up I generally will start it out of the water for 2 or 3 minutes to make sure she's warm before backing in. There is no plastic water pump impeller on the sportjets so there are no issues warming it up out of water......but you can't let it get too warm as those darn cables are right next to the exhaust. 2 or 3 minutes gets the exhaust warm but not hot.